World Bank Income Classification:Low Income
The World Bank classifies economies for analytical purposes into four income groups: low, lower-middle, upper-middle, and high income. For this purpose it uses gross national income (GNI) per capita data in U.S. dollars, converted from local currency using the World Bank Atlas method, which is applied to smooth exchange rate fluctuations.
Least Developed Country:Yes
Since 1971, the United Nations has recognized LDCs as a category of States that are deemed highly disadvantaged in their development process, for structural, historical and also geographical reasons. Three criteria are used: per capita income, human assets, and economic vulnerability.
Gender Inequality Index:0.575
GII is a composite metric of gender inequality using three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labour market. A low GII value indicates low inequality between women and men, and vice-versa.
Gender Development Index:0.723
GDI measures gender inequalities in achievement in three basic dimensions of human development: health, education, and command over economic resources.
Population:209,497,025
Source of population data: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects: The 2022 Revision
Male:19,976,265 (9.5%)
Female:189,520,760 (90.5%)
Women and girls live a life free from all forms of discrimination, violence and harmful social norms.
EVAW & harmful social norms
Women and girls live a life free from all forms of discrimination, violence and harmful social norms.
UN Women reports on this indicator in a global scope, signified by "(Desk Review)" at the end of the indicator statement (see the Our Global Results page for the global result)
Common indicators are those that appear verbatim the same in at least two entities' results frameworks and are drawn, where possible, directly from other globally agreed frameworks.
Common
Complementary indicators are identified as those in the results framework that are not repeated verbatim in the results framework of another United Nations entity, but are related or provide different but complementary lenses or insights into the same issue, high-level result and/or area of complementary work, such as a Sustainable Development Goal target.
Complementary
UN Women reports on this indicator in a global scope, signified by "(Desk Review)" at the end of the indicator statement (see the Our Global Results page for the global result)
Common indicators are those that appear verbatim the same in at least two entities' results frameworks and are drawn, where possible, directly from other globally agreed frameworks.
Common
Key stakeholders have strengthened capacity to influence the development, implementation, and oversight of legislation and policies on VAW.
Institutions, communities and Individuals have increased capacity to advance and advocate for policies and practices that address gender-based discrimination and combat harmful gender stereotypes including through engaging men and boys
Data reported for 2022 results against this indicator was obtained as part of a learning process on social norms and therefore may not accurately reflect the results obtained. Internal reviews of data collected on social norms across relevant indicators, coupled with external reviews, are informing the design of UN Women’s principled approach to social & gender norms change. This will be reflected in changes to the indicators to be introduced in the Mid-Term Review of the Strategic Plan.
Data reported for 2022 results against this indicator was obtained as part of a learning process on social norms and therefore may not accurately reflect the results obtained. Internal reviews of data collected on social norms across relevant indicators, coupled with external reviews, are informing the design of UN Women’s principled approach to social & gender norms change. This will be reflected in changes to the indicators to be introduced in the Mid-Term Review of the Strategic Plan.
Data reported for 2022 results against this indicator was obtained as part of a learning process on social norms and therefore may not accurately reflect the results obtained. Internal reviews of data collected on social norms across relevant indicators, coupled with external reviews, are informing the design of UN Women’s principled approach to social & gender norms change. This will be reflected in changes to the indicators to be introduced in the Mid-Term Review of the Strategic Plan.
Data reported for 2022 results against this indicator was obtained as part of a learning process on social norms and therefore may not accurately reflect the results obtained. Internal reviews of data collected on social norms across relevant indicators, coupled with external reviews, are informing the design of UN Women’s principled approach to social & gender norms change. This will be reflected in changes to the indicators to be introduced in the Mid-Term Review of the Strategic Plan.
Women and girls have increased access to quality essential services and socio-economic measures.
In addition to results reported by UN Women field offices (shown here), results achieved in countries and territories through the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UNTF) are included in a non-duplicative manner in the global reporting on this indicator (see the Our Global Results page).
In addition to results reported by UN Women field offices (shown here), results achieved in countries and territories through the United Nations Trust Fund to End Violence against Women (UNTF) are included in a non-duplicative manner in the global reporting on this indicator (see the Our Global Results page).
Women and girls live a life free from all forms of discrimination, violence and harmful social norms.
The outcome was not achieved, as violence against women and girls remains the most pervasive human rights violation in the region, though some progress was made. Two additional countries in the ECA region ratified the Istanbul Convention . Moldova ratified the Convention on 31st January 2022, and the treaty went into effect on the 1st of May, while Ukraine ratified it on the 18 th of July – 11 years after signing the treaty – and it went into effect on the 1st of November 2022. Thus, as of December 2022, 37 European countries have ratified the Convention, eight of which are within the ECA region - Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Republic of Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine. Moreover, in 2022, while EU accession to the Istanbul Convention remained blocked, the von der Leyen Commission proposed new legislation to address VAW at the EU level and included EU accession to the Convention as a priority for 2022. Eight ECA countries have not ratified the Convention yet: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, and Slovak Republic, while Türkiye withdrew in July 2021. Several threats to the safety of women and girls emerged and increased during the reporting period. First, the war in Ukraine heightened the risk of conflict-related violence against women and girls, including conflict-related sexual violence and other forms of torture. Second, the COVID-19 pandemic continued to affect the reliability and modality of protection measures against VAW and essential services for survivors. Despite the persistence of violence and discrimination against women and girls, countries in the region made several notable achievements toward the protection of women and girls and prevention of violence: The Government of Albania launched changes to the Criminal Code to double sentences for serious crimes and remove shortened judgments, including for crimes related to domestic violence and violence against children. The Kosovo Government approved the new Strategy on Protection from Domestic Violence and Violence against Women for 2022-2026 on 26 January 2022. Moreover, policymakers finalized and submitted the draft new Law on Protection from Domestic Violence to the Presidency of Kosovo Parliament on 14 October 2022. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Agency for Gender Equality in Bosnia and Herzegovina committed to undertake a series of actions to collect harmonized and gender-aware data on femicide and to strengthen the femicide watch mandate of the Committee for Monitoring and Reporting on the Istanbul Convention and Femicide in BiH – the first of such committees in the Western Balkans – thereby adopting the recommendations provided by former UN Special Representative on Violence Against Women with the support of UN Women (UNSRVAW). Key regional and governmental actors prioritize femicide prevention and response as a political issue more in the ECA region thanks to the work of UN Women and its partners . Governments and authorities in Albania, Montenegro and Serbia expressed their commitment to eradicating femicide and establishing a femicide watch. The Serbian government also defined femicide as the most extreme manifestation of VAW and established a control mechanism for monitoring and analyzing femicide cases (Femicide Watch) in the Strategy for combating Gender Based Violence. These changes resulted from advocacy using research generated from a framework for understanding the characteristics, causes and patterns of femicide. Governments and civil society in the region accessed transparent and up-to-date information on the femicide epidemic through the first interactive femicide map in the region. Produced by UN Women and partner CSO Femplatz, the map captured more than 100 femicides committed in Albania, Montenegro and Serbia since 2020. The map tracks data on femicide and is a model of a public and transparent tool that may be developed through prospective femicide watches in the region ( more info available here ) . After regional stakeholders attended a presentation of the new UN statistical framework for measuring femicide, they selected Albania and Serbia as pilot countries for the framework’s rollout in 2023. The UN Statistical Commission adopted the framework in early 2022, and regional stakeholders learned about the framework in September through a webinar organized by UN Women. The 2022 UNECE Regional Forum on Sustainable Development included a greater focus on femicide through a side event “One femicide watch in every country to end the shadow pandemic,” co-sponsored by the Government of Spain - the first European Union member state to set up a femicide watch - and the current UNSRVAW. Multi-agency cooperation between healthcare providers and women’s specialist service providers in the Western Balkans improved notably . In three cities in Serbia, there was a 40% increase in doctor referrals for women survivors of violence to women’s CSOs providing specialist services . This increase occurred following meetings with primary healthcare workers to promote referral pathways. In BiH and Serbia, CSOs collaborated with local entities to develop and strengthen protocols and guidelines on referring and treating cases of VAW. These results were achieved through 69 meetings and seven training workshops that reached 735 key stakeholders (healthcare workers, healthcare decisionmakers, ministry representatives, etc.) across seven Western Balkan countries/territories with information on referral pathways, multi-agency cooperation, and effective standards of care for victims of VAW. Based on the progress made to date, the original strategy and theory of change for this outcome remain still applicable. If, as expected, this strategy is successful, more women at risk of violence and subject to discrimination and harmful social norms will be legally protected with strengthened legislation and have access to and benefit services when needed.Disclaimer and notes
References to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of United Nations Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).